"Me First" Christianity

"And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:57-62



The two disciples that Jesus was speaking with in this passage share a lot in common with the majority of Christians, including myself at times, that I see in the world today. People say that they want to follow Jesus and be one of His disciples, but there is usually something that prohibits them from being fully surrendered to His calling. In both of these cases, family and friends came in the way of these disciples' walk with Christ. The typical Christian in our churches today are no different than these two men. In our present day and age, education, vocation, relaxation, and self-gratification are the usual culprits for hindering a person's walk with the Lord. You see, many people, past and present, want to do want they want to do, go where they want to go, be who they want to be, and serve how they want to serve without ever considering how or what God would have them do, go, be, and serve. It is apparent that today's Christian has no desire to live a holy life that is pleasing to God, especially if they must give up something that brings them pleasure in order to do so. Every where you turn you see Christians who love the world more than they love their Savior. The Bible makes it crystal clear that you cannot serve God and still hold on to the things of this sin-filled world. The Scriptures also make the unmistakable claim that you cannot follow the Lord and have your own way about things at the same time. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." It is impossible follow Christ until you have denied all right to your self and crucified your own fleshly desires. Jesus could not have made it more clear.

As an example, here is a link to a blog of a pastor in Georgia who wants to let people know how they can dress as cool as he dresses (http://yckg.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/how-to-dress-as-cool-as-me/). This guy is more concerned with a person's wardrobe than he is about the destiny of their soul. Instead of trying to encourage people how look and act like the world, why does this man not encourage people how to be more like Christ. I suppose if he did that, though, he would not be so "cool" anymore and no on would want to follow him. In effect, he is saying, "Jesus, I will follow you if you will allow me first to dress as hip as I can." Give me a break. God is not fooled or impressed by such immaturity.

If we are to lead others to the Savior of this world we must be dedicated to Him. The people of this world are not impressed with Christians who look, talk, think, dress, and imitate them in every possible way and then say that they are not of the world. The world wants to see something different and distinct. They want to see people who have convictions and are willing to abide by and stand up for those convictions. More importantly, though, God wants His children to be devoted entirely to Him and Him alone. He wants Christians to be "unspotted from the world." God said that "whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." He also said, "If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him."

There was another man in the Bible who said "me first," but his attitude was entirely different than that of the other two. Paul, writing to Timothy, said, "Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." Oh, how we should all want our Lord and Savior to emanate from within us so that we, too, would be examples for the lost world! That will only happen, though, when we surrender every area of our life to follow and serve Him. Are you surrendered to Jesus, or in your heart are you saying "me first"?

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me Jesus, take me now

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me, Savior, wholly thine
Let me feel the Holy Spirit
Truly know that Thou art mine

All to Jesus I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me